Greetings from a transplanted New Yorker to Germany!

[Stan S Type]

Greetings from Germany to all! Having stumbled on to this site (and it looks great so far!), I thought I would say hello to all my fellow Jaguar enthusiasts! :)

After living for 38 years in Manhattan NYC, I moved to Germany 2 years ago after getting married to a wonderful German woman I met 7 years ago in NYC. Having owned a 1991 Jaguar XJ6 "Vanden Plas" there (not sure what the British and European nomenclature was, perhaps "Daimler"?) and having the most pleasurable, trouble-free experience with it for years and 200,000 miles until it was "totaled" by an idiot who ran in to me, I decided upon my arrival here to look for another Jaguar. I "lucked out" in that the 2007 S-Type I found had been garaged for 3 years by the widow of the owner. and only had 52,000 miles on it. The 2.7 Diesel had never been available in the US, but the reviews I read were quite positive, so I took the plunge! :) So far, so good! She is very quiet for a diesel, and remains so even at 230 KMH on the Autobahn. I am hoping to get at least a few more years of pleasure with her! :)

Having said that, I do have a couple of questions that I hope might be answered by some of you.

I have recently been getting a few fault codes popping up on the dash, most often after starting it after very cold weather. I get a "transmission fault" code  after starting the car. After turning it off, removing the key and then restarting, the error does not reappear, and all the shifts are silky smooth. I recently disconnected the battery and, upon checking the date, the battery was manufactured in 2007, so the original battery! I have heard that an old battery can set off a myriad of fault codes, so I think I need to replace it. I get a EPB code that sometimes says the EPB can not be engaged, and at others I can't release it!  Might this sound as though the old battery might be the culprit? My other question is re: the timing belt/water pump. I now have 104,000 KM on the car, and noticed in the manual that it needs to be replaced after 10 years or 100,000 KM. Am I taking an undue risk taking a trip to Zurich and back (1200KM) before I change it? Also, can anyone tell me what type of coolant I need for the car? It appears Orange in color, but is there some type of number I can use to locate the right anti-freeze?

Thanks in advance for any info you might be able to offer!
Best wishes!
Stan

[Guest]

Hi Stan and (a belated) Welcome to the Club and Europe,

Sounds like you lucked out in many regards; out of Manhattan, new wife and a Jaguar classic to boot - congratulations on all counts.

The Daimler label was never applied to the S Type and the Vanden Plas badge was only associated with export models I think.

Most of your troubles will almost certainly be due to the poor condition of the battery - the S Types are notorious for all sorts of warnings when the battery is very low or on its last legs as is yours. Given how much colder in can be in Central Europe than in the UK (though my experience of Manhattan in winter suggest you won't see much difference) you can expect more such problems if you do not replace the battery and make sure that the car gets some lengthy 20 miles plus journeys from time to time.

I would get the belt changed come what may - better safe than sorry.

The anti freeze commonly used is a Ford compatible product and it should be listed in the owners manual but you may want to move to a waterless coolant as have many others here in Blighty.

Good luck and enjoy - the new home, the new wife, and the S Type - by the way, that ache you have developing in your cheeks is the product of the Jaguar Grin.

Steve

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the Club, Stan.

We have the same model year, and I also found  some of the issues that you have found.

As you say, the 2.7 diesel is rather quiet and a pleasure to drive, and being a diesel, it does not like starting in the cold weather if the battery is low.

My car is on its third battery as they only last about 5 years, and since installing it 16 months ago I have only had one "Parkbrake fault" which was when the battery was low.

My car had a new engine while in Jaguar ownership  when it was three years old so I should not need to change the cam belt yet, but I did have to change the water pump 18 months ago.

I don't think engines know how old they are, so I think that another trip should not harm it, but I would book it in on your return.

Some owners have a problem with the DPF, but I have never had a problem and I put that down to using premium fuel and giving Morgana a longish run once a month or so.  I have had a few issues with the EGR valves getting sticky, but have cured that by using a shot of Millers ECO plus for diesel engines which keeps the system clear.

I think you will enjoy you s type as will SWMBO.

Regards

Peter.